Nearly 100,000 pre-orders for the new Orange Livebox Play were placed in just over two weeks.

The new range of set-top box from the French IPTV provider will officially go on sale on Thursday, February 7. Orange is in need of a better set-top box, as it is falling behind in the take-up of new subscribers. During the first nine months of 2012, the operator gained 225,000 new customers, as compared with 408,000 for Free and 235,000 for Bouygues Telecom.

“The new Livebox Play is packed full of cutting-edge technologies,” said Delphine Ernotte Cunci, executive director of Orange France.

“In combination with the Livebox Play packages, customers will be able to use all their screens to enjoy a vast range of uses, including browsing the internet, playing games and social networking.”

The new Livebox Play offers customers download speeds of up to 200 Mbps, and up to 50 Mbps for uploads.

With dual-band Wi-Fi (2.4 and 5 Ghz), customers can connect the whole house to watch films in HD quality on multiple screens and enjoy better coverage. This latest generation dual band Wi-Fi covers the entire range of connection requirement

Customers can use the “my Livebox” application, available free of charge (excluding connection costs) for smartphones and tablets, to configure and control their box: it is easy to schedule Wi-Fi activation or an internet connection for every device on specific days and at specific times.

Orange’s Livebox Play set-top box is equipped with an Intel processor. Paul Otellini, CEO of the Intel Corporation explained: “From the beginning, Orange asked us for our most powerful processor. That’s what we gave them, with the Intel Groveland processor. It’s great to see such an innovative product importing the best of the internet to TV and to other Full HD devices – 3D graphics, video games, and much more. ”

With this set-top box, it is now possible to easily browse the internet and access a store with dozens of applications such as Deezer, Dailymotion and Allociné. The catalogue will be regularly extended over time.

Orange customers will also be able to interact directly on social networks (Twitter, Facebook) from their TV, in connection with the programme they are watching.

The remote control includes all the latest technologies to hit the market: gyroscopic control to change channels and adjust the volume with a simple stroke, a keyboard for surfing the internet and social networks and a joystick to play games directly on the TV. The remote control also uses radio frequency.

The Cloud gaming package on Orange TV also includes a catalogue of more than 100 games. This new service provides gaming without a console and integrates practical functions (multi-player and multi-screen, with several compatible game controllers), with the possibility of usage control, particularly when accessed by children.

With Livebox Play, the Orange TV ‘video games’ service now provides more than 120 games. The set-top box comes with nine pre-installed games including two major licensed releases: Asphalt 6 Adrenaline and Tintin – The Secret of the Unicorn.

The Livebox Play set-top box is fitted with a recorder with a storage capacity of 80 Gb and up to 240Gb on request.

From April customers will be able to equip the set-top box with a Panasonic-assembled 3D Blu Ray player. This option will cost €99.